Driving along the Bay Bridge last night, I saw three of the same billboard promoting The Beatles’ arrival on iTunes. Seeing this Abbey Road-era photo of the Fab Four frozen in time, I couldn’t help but be struck by just how handsome a chap George Harrison was (and I’m not normally one for long locks). At the same time I was considering my passing infatuation, I remembered that last Monday marked nine years since his death at 58.

Long known as “the quiet Beatle,” Harrison seemed content to let John and Paul have the spotlight. Lennon and McCartney kept a strong hold on whose tunes the band recorded (largely theirs), with Harrison contributing one or two compositions per album beginning with The Beatles’ second release, With The Beatles. But as Harrison expanded his musical influences, he grew as a songwriter and landed three tunes on 1966’s Revolver and four on 1968’s double LP, The Beatles (aka “The White Album”). After The Beatles’ breakup, he went on to enjoy quite the prolific solo career. Quiet no longer, he was free to fill out albums’ worth of his own material. (In fact, Harrison’s first post-Beatles record, All Things Must Pass, was a triple-album.)

Of all the songs Harrison wrote and recorded in his too-short lifetime, one of the most iconic is “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” From his quartet of tunes that appeared on The Beatles, the original is notable for featuring a lead solo from Eric Clapton, which is more than a little ironic, dontcha think? “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” has made many a ‘best’ list in recent years, and many have tackled the Beatles’ now-classic track.

In September, Santana covered “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” the lead single from Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time, with India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma. Though that curious mix of musicians might warrant the Sunday Cover Story spotlight, it’s another new-ish (and really, miles better) take by Girl In A Coma that’s caught my ear.

Signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records, the all-girl trio from San Antonio, Texas originally released their cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in April, the first in a 3-part series of singles now collected on their Adventures In Coverland album, issued in mid-October. Though the Santana version also features a female on vocals (a girl-power switch that freshens up the song), Girl In The Coma bring a real energy and feisty attitude to their re-do, a performance that puts these ladies on top:

Purchase Girl In A Coma – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.